Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-05-19
CLEANING THEM OUT.
Captain Porter and Lieutenant Far
ragut Among Cuban Pirates.

Among the "reminiscences of sixty
years of service in the navy, with which
the late Admiral tarragut used Occas-
ionally to entertain us youngsters, -"
was an account of one of his early
cruises in the West Indies against the
, pirates that even as late us 1928, were
very troublesome in those waters.
These miscreants, the Successors of the
atrocious buccaneers, lowered about
the smallest and least known harbors,
sounds and lagoons along the southern
coast of Cuba. They infested also Hay
ii, Porto Rico and some of the lesser
islands. Most of their vessels were small
craft of light draught, capable of being
propelled, in calm weather, by means
of sweeps, or long oars, and of enter
ing shallow bays, inaccessible to the
heavy English and American men-of-
war. The havoc wrought by them on
our commerce in that quarter was con-
siderable.
Our Government therefore fitted out
and put in commission number of
light vessels-several of them small
.schooners and barges-whlch received
the name of the Mosquito Fleet, for the
express purpose of ferreting out the
freebooters. Some of these small war
ships received characteristic names:
there was the Beagle, the Weasel, the
Fox, the Ferret and the Greyhound.
The last-named was a schooner of
eighty-five tons burden. She was Il
rapid sailer, and carried for armament
one long pivot gun and two eighteen
Founders. The other vessels were of
similar tonnage and outfit. OF the
barges two had been christened the
Mosquito and the Gallinipper, respect
lively.
Farragut, then q Second Lieutenant
and twenty-one years of age, was as
signed to the Greyhound, commanded
by Captain John Porter. The entire
hotilla was under the command of Com
modore Porter, with whom young Far
ragut had served as a MILDLY at the
early age of ten years on board the
famous old frigate Essex. The little
fleet of pirate-hunters sailed from New
York an the afternoon of the twelfth of
February, 1928, with heavy northeast
gale on its quarter. The Greyhound
soon became separated from the other
vessels. and arrived in the Mona Pas
sage, between Hayti and Porto Rico.
twelve days after them.
The delay led to an encounter with a
British war-vessel, the commander of
which suspected her to be Il pirate YES
sci, sailing under false colors. Captain
Porter returned fire when shot was
s6red across his bow. At this piece of
Audacity, the British commander laugh
ingly declared that mo one but Yam
kee would have fired like that and
upon finding that his surmise was cor
rect, sent an apology and a present of
fruit to Porter.
Quite different was the conduct of
the Spanish authorities at the West In
idian ports. who had failed to put down
piracy in their own waters and We're
obliged to rely on Il foreign Power %
do SO. AS the Fox was entering the
harbor of San Juan, she was fired upon
from one of the forts, although the
American flag was flying conspicuous
ly, and her commander was fatally
wounded. For this outrage only Il very
insincere apology was ever rendered.
Moreover, so we'll warned were the
pirates of the whereabouts and move
for some months no captures were
made.
AT length the two barges, Gallinip-
per and Mosquito. under command of
Lieutenant Watson, with crews amount
ing altogether to thirty-one men, sur
prised large piratical schooner on the
Cuban coast in calm. The pirate
mounted a nine-pounder brass gun.
and carried well-armed crew of more
than sixty men; she was owned and
commanded by noted desperado,
who. for his many murders and other
acts of atrocity, had received the nick
name of ''Diablito," or Little Satan"
Lieutenant Watson, plucky young
officer, had no sooner made out the
character of the schooner, than he de-
termined to capture it at all hazards
Accordingly, the two barges advanced
to the attack.
Diablito. confident in the superior
numbers of his men, and in his cannon
which he had charged with grape-shot,
hoisted the black flag of his nefarious
profession, and shouted defiance to the
approaching blue-jackets. promising to
blow them all out of existence before